Draft 1 of the Rogue Game: A mini-game for running Stealth Encounters

Talking in the OSR discord about new ways to do stealth has led me to want to make stealth into a mini-game, much like combat. So, this is my attempt at what is the Rogue Game.

WHAT IS THE ROGUE GAME

The Rogue Game is similar to combat--it is a separate mini-game within the greater game itself. If played with We Mortal Legends, just bust these rules out in the middle of gameplay. Otherwise, this will begin a series of actions much like running a combative encounter.

Stealth is the Rogue Game. In the Rogue Game, players will navigate traps, shadows, and guards all looking to catch the players.

Rogue Game Goal: There is a goal at the end of the Rogue Game: to reach an area where stealth is no longer required to progress forward. This can be a treasury, escaping a dungeon, or reaching the apartments of some target of assassination. There can be additional goals as well, such as:

• Recovering treasure.
• Recovering information.
• Killing a target.
• Planting evidence.
• Sabotage.

Failing the Rogue Game: The Rogue Game fails if players die, if Guards alert the entire Complex to the players presence, party SD falls to 0, or if the players are somehow captured or incapacitated during the Rogue Game.

The Rogue Game vs Stealth: The Rogue Game is initiated whenever the players need to move stealthily throughout a large space (such as dungeon halls, a large treasury with a dragon in it, or across a field to a castle wall). Normal stealth can and should be used for your appropriate system when doing short-term stealth traveling.

ANATOMY OF THE ROGUE GAME

The following terms are the lingua franca of the Rogue Game. They will be explained in practical terms further below.

Round & Turn: As per combat. Each round is equal to a minute of time if you need to measure time. It can easily be considered as ten minutes or so as well.

Zones: The tunnels, maps, and rooms where the Rogue Game takes place. Each zone has its own guards, Light Dice dedicated to it, and obstacles. The more zones a Rogue Game includes, the more difficult it is.

Shadow Dice (SD): The entire party has a pool of shadow dice. This is a die whose size can change throughout the Rogue Game, depending on certain conditions. This also decides turn order, as discussed in the next section.

Light Dice (LD): These are used by the Gamemaster, who has either a 1, 3, or 5 light dice. They function the same as Shadow Dice, and are used to set DC's for checks, saving throws, or contested checks between Guards/traps against the PCs. The more you have, the more difficult the Rogue Game. They start at d20 and can vary in size like Shadow Dice. Each zone has the maximum number of LD in it--once all LD are used in a zone, no more can be used. LD can be triggered during any player's turn.

Skulduggery: These are actions a PC can take on their turn. It can be anything from moving forward (at half their normal movement rate), undoing a trap, scanning the area, or setting an ambush. As a default, these things have no roll associated with them. The players, being cautious, simply do them. However, the GM can choose to spend Light Dice to force the player to spend Shadow Dice to impose difficulty on the roll. EX: John wants to peek around the corner and scope out the tunnel. Normally, he does so just fine. The GM rolls one of their 3 Light Dice. John must spend a SD and roll above the LD to see what's down there. In these situations, the GM should always explain what is imposing difficulty on this.

Guards: Guards are anything that can detect a player. How many guards, what kind, their movement patterns--all of this should be thought up in vague terms by the GM. If you need a simple statblock for guards, use this:

Name:

Number: How many Guards are in this specific patrol.

Reaction: A d6 table for the Guards reaction to the players or a single reaction they will try to take.

Movement Pattern: What parts of the zone they frequent.

Special Qualities: Unique stuff.

Obstacles: Obstacles are traps, environmental hazards, area-based spells/curses, and treacherous territory. When encountered by the PCs, these obstacles must somehow be overcome. If the PCs method of overcoming the obstacle is not full proof (such as flying over a pit or using rope to climb a cliff), the GM can spend an LD for free to set a DC for the obstacle.

PLAYING THE ROGUE GAME

Below is offered a listed procedure. Specifics will be below that.

1. The PC's enter into an area dangerous that they want to stealth through. The Rogue Game begins.
2. Take the total Wisdom, Intelligence, and Charisma modifiers (or the combination of the Savvy+Athletics 10's digits in We Mortal Legends) of the party and add them together. This will give the party their entire pool of d20 Shadow Dice. If using 5E, take the Proficiency bonus of the party and add the highest Dexterity modifier found in the party. Having these numbers on hand before a session begins makes things faster.
3. GM decides how many Light Dice they have, and how many zones there are, and what is inside the zones. This is best to have prepared before the game.
4. The following factors are considered for lowering the die size of the SD.
• More than half the party is wearing medium or heavier armor.
• The players are in open daylight.
• There is nothing to hide the players.
• Guards are already alerted to the player's presence.
• A PC is dead, unconscious, or otherwise incapacitated.
• Something is actively chasing the PCs.
5. If all of the above conditions are met, the Rogue Game ends in instantaneous failure.
6. Compare LD and SD pools to see who goes first.
7. Each PC can take a turn. Use popcorn intiative or a marching order to decide this.

PCs will encounter obstacles and Guards throughout the Rogue Game. They must use Skulduggery to overcome these obstacles. 

Lowering SD: Shadow Dice decrease by pool size and die size. A single die must be spent in order to succeed against the GM's LD. When an SD is spent, the rest of the party can elect to help, allowing the SD to be rolled twice and the higher number to be taken. If the SD is lower than the LD, the entire pool of dice decreases in size by 1 die step and the obstacle is still overcome. If this occurs when the SD are 1d4's, the Rogue Game is lost. NOTE: Just because failure is mitigated in a way doesn't mean there are no consequences. Losing the SD vs LD showdown can trigger Guard features, call more Guards to an area, or cost hit points, as per GM's discretion.

Recovering SD: If the PCs take a 10 minute breather to regain their composure in between zones, they can choose to either regain all missing SD, or to boost their SD by 1 die step if below a d20.

Lowering LD: If all LD in a zone are overcome, the LD in the next zone are all decreased by 1 die step.

Raising LD: If SD are decreased by 1 step, LD are increased by 1 step in the next zone.

Combat in the Rogue Game: There isn't true combat in the Rogue Game. If an ambush or assassination works, with or without roll, it just works. This can create new obstacles however: all the guards are dead, but now the bodies have to be hidden lest they be discovered. At the GM's discretion, a 2nd LD can be rolled and spent when an ambush or short combat happens, subtracting that many hit points from each PC's maximum hit points.

Changing Zones: Zones are easily changed. Once the PCs reach the end of one zone and enter into another, they are given a chance to take a breather. This does not mean they are safe: guards and other dangers can find them.

EXAMPLE SCENARIO FOR THE ROGUE GAME:

Stronghold of the Witchmother

Time of Day: Night

Zone #: 3 (fields, castle wall + courtyard, interior stronghold)

LD #: 5

Fields

Guards:

• 5 patrols of Castle Guardsmen watch with arrows, burning oil, treacherous, and bells.
• Blink dogs in the fields hunt slowly, seeking anything they can find hidden.
• Ravens bewitched to flock around discovered invaders.

Obstacles:

• Pitfalls dug and hidden underneath the field soil. Spikes are underneath.
• 20 foot wide moat around castle wall.
• Random moving spotlights on castle wall.

Castle Wall + Courtyard

Guards: 

• 5 patrols of Castle Guardsmen, same as those watching over the fields.
• 4 Gargoyles positioned in the 4 cardinal directions.
• 5 more patrols of Castle Guardsmen who walk around the perimeter of the courtyard.

Obstacles

• Gravel pathways and dry leaves in the grass to make footsteps noticeable.
• Statues that, if approached, will sing.

Interior Stronghold

Guards:

• 10 patrols of Castle Guardsmen, 6 of which are currently sleeping in barracks.
• 5 Sentient Paintings whom can move from one painting or mirror to the next.
• The Mother's Daemon, a demon conjured by the Witchmother of the Stronghold. Haunts the doorway between her bedchambers and the rest of the stronghold.

Obstacles:

• Stairways that, if the railing is not touched when going up or down, rumble and move.
• Doors enchanted to look false to look like walls behind the doors.
• Rats that swarm those traveling the Stronghold at night without a charm from the Witchmother.
• Lamps and scones that shed white light on hallways, making classical shadow-stealth impossible.

Guard Stats

Name: Castle Guardsmen

Number: 3

Reaction: Scream intruder and engage in melee combat.

Movement Pattern: Castle walls; watch over fields; courtyards; interior strongholds.

Special Qualities: Wear a breastplate (medium armor), and have crossbows, long swords, daggers, and spears. 1 HD per guard.

Name: Blinkdogs

Number: 2

Reaction: Scream the scream of a woman being gutted before disappearing and attacking.

Movement Pattern: Fields

Special Qualities: Can teleport a distance of 30 feet and make attacks with claws and fangs afterwards.

Name: Gargoyles

Number: 1

Reaction: Sing the Witchmother's anthem, fly into the air, then swoop in to attack.

Movement Pattern: Courtyard

Special Qualities: Immune to bladed weapons, can fly, and strike with fists that do damage as if boulders.

Name: Sentient Paintings

Number: 1

Reaction: Will jump from painting to painting searching for Guardsmen to alert.

Movement Pattern: Interior Stronghold

Special Qualities: Move from painting to painting at a rate of 3 paintings a turn. Each room or hallway has 1d8 paintings in it. If painting is destroyed with Sentient Painting inside, the Sentient Painting is killed.

Name: The Mother's Daemon

Number: 1

Reaction: 

1-2: Bargain with the players, offering them assistance if they kill the Witchmother and offer them a blood sacrifice.

3-4: Will engage the players in combat.

5-6: Will wake the Witchmother.

Movement Pattern: Interior Stronghold - Witchmother's bedchambers only.

Special Qualities: Cannot be hurt save through spell or magic weapons. Invisible but has a shadow. Attempts to possess players (free use of an LD). If successful, will only be exorcised through magic or rendering possessed player incapacitated. If struck with Holy Water, hears prayers, or if the doorway is destroyed, it is dismissed.